Bran

Ah, yes. I can understand that point. I have wrestled with that over the years as well with the play differences between DND and BRP. Something I still wrestle with.

What in particular do Feats do? I read some posts before that broke down the typical D&D Feats, and honestly, I found that they are built into the chassis of BRP. Same with class abilities. A lot can be covered with magic as well. One element I like was introduced in Mythic Island, where Allegiance gave you special abilities at specific tiers (20%, 50%, 70% if I remember off hand... something like that). And Elric had a spell that allowed you to bolt a demonic ability to your being. Gave me the idea that I could award special abilities to characters with spells. There's also the Heroic Abilities options from MRQ. Though I didn't like the introduction of Heroic points, which Luck covers in 7E. There's options for subsystems. But too many different ones and it starts to weigh down the game chassis. It's one reason why I liked Elric. A lot of hidden little features built and woven into the chassis.

I would REALLY like to see Magic World reinvented for 7E. I've gone back and forth on whether I truly like 7E. I think there's a certain charm to older editions, but overall, I just can't deny how the game has been streamlined. It just works so much better than previous versions. For a hypothetical 7E-style update, I'd liked to see a few things addressed: 1. Drop the name "Magic World". I understand it has a history to the name, being as old as the company itself. But... its weak and generic. Sorry. It sounds more like all those knockoff mobile games that are cheap but poorly made. We need a name that evokes that pulp sword and sorcery feel (which, honestly, the hobby is desperately in need of more and more). We've had Stormbringer (man, what a name), Hawkmoon, then you have other properties like The Witcher, The Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, etc. I find all these fascinating names. Chaosium books have always worked better when their rules are tied to a strong setting, and not generic. 2. Pretty much use Cthulhu Dark Ages 3E as the base system. The majority of the work is done, just bring in the elements from Magic World to fill in the gaps. 3. Pulp Cthulhu has several concepts that could be key: archetypes (perhaps using archetypes instead of occupations?), Talents, rules for villains, etc. 4. Keep magic based around Sorcery. Ever since Call of Cthulhu, I just never enjoyed the idea of separate magic systems. Just makes sense that everything works the same. I do like some of the ideas from the Stormbringer/Elric game lines, and Adavnced Magic filled in gaps. A lot of it could be rolled into the sorcery system. 5. Arete needs to be woven into the skills chapter. Same with alchemy/herbalism. 6. A strong sword and sorcery setting. Doesn't have to be written into everything (like Stormbringer or Cthulhu Dark Ages) but boxes of text strewn about the chapters explaining how you take the rules and bolt a setting onto them (or dial rules to fit the setting). 7. Fill that book with artwork that evokes the pulpy sword and sorcery genre. 8. Let the community create additional settings for it. (Personally, I'd do a more medieval era sword and sorcery setting, but I'm sure others have their own personal favorites) Or, maybe I'm thinking too much into this.

Actually, that is a far better approach. Only glanced at Classic Fantasy. But that it definitely a great approach. The use of Occult was just a random skill I picked, but could be any. I was working off a concept to adapt a similar feel to D&D without actually adapting the system. Spell Level could also be adapted as 'spheres' or 'circles' depending on how someone wanted to dress up any surrounding lore around the concept. Also, my connecting 10% skill increments to each spell level was based on the idea that the skill would work similar to the Cthulhu Mythos skill, where players cannot put points into it immediately, but would increase the skill through play. In fact, a rule could be used that Wizards can have starting % in the skill equal to INT. The skill would be used to identify spells, as well as gauge particular knowledge of the arcane. And that each Circle, Sphere, Level (however you wanna call it) would need a particular minimum % to understand spells of that level. It was just an idea. Though, as you pointed out, Classic Fantasy seems to have done a better job of organizing them better.

Could you perhaps tie it into having a minimum skill requirement (perhaps it relates to understanding the bizarre language of arcane writings). The Spell Levels of D&D could also translate into 10% increments. So you need Occult 30% to understand Level 3 spells, Occult 50% to cast Level 5 spells, Occult 90% to cast Level 9 spells. It could cause balance issues, but it creates an easy mathematical solution to conversion. The Level system could even be tied into a GM's world lore, with each level considered a new understanding of the universe and reshaping the forces that bind reality. Just a thought.

Thank you. This helps clear things up regarding the Cthulhu magic mechanics.

My main concern is regarding any magic systems. I have been working on my own homebrew fantasy campaign using the BRP system. It was never meant to be published, but now with this announcement, there is always that possibility down the road. I only own Call of Cthulhu, Elric, and Paladin; I do not own Runequest, so I am unaware of how many of the prohibited magic systems work. As several magic systems are considered Prohibited content, where does the Cthulhu magic rules fall? I'm not looking to replicate spells (all mine are D&D type stuff), but my system revolved around similar activities of studying tomes and learning from other magicians and entities. Are the Cthulhu magic rules a variation of the Sorcery rules? Just trying to get clarification, as I really don't want to invest a pile of work into a system, only to find out it's too similar to existing mechanics, or end up in legal trouble because of my ignorance. Does anyone have an example of mechanics for magic that COULD be used? Thanks.

There was a limited release of, I think, 200 copies back in 2015. It was a soft cover, black and white release, similar to 6th edition books. My guess is they are updating it for color. I think that was an announcement a few years back, that every release moving forward plans to be a full-color book. Maybe someone else could elaborate. If all this is accurate, you won't be seeing a PDF of the black & white version, as it won't reflect the final release.

Been waiting an eternity for this. Last I heard was that it was possibly releasing this year. Any updates on this?

A Time to Harvest (collected print version of the free campaign released last year) is also slated for release in the near future. There are also a few Dark Ages projects on the drawing board that I assume are just waiting for the release of the Dark Ages core book to get greenlit? The author could probably shed more that than I could.

Mike, I believe it'd be beneficial to have an alternative (in a side box) on various ways to make the Dreamland elements into something else, perhaps more horror based. One idea I had, which connects into another Cthulhu product, is to have the Nameless Mists (from Cthulhu Dark Ages), which spreads throughout the woods and is crawling with monsters. Whatever reason the Mi-Go have for conducting experiments with the Nameless Mists are their own. Its a great alternative to those that don't want Dreamlands in their Cthulhu... It also adds atmosphere, with thick fog rolling through the dark forests, and silhouettes of Men of Leng and other creatures being just out of full view. I like the idea above about the Mi-Go's droning effect... Falling Tower, make sure you send that in as an idea. For myself, I think I will suggest ideas to make the Dreamlands (or Nameless Mists) creatures more alien and "not of this dimension" by describing their movements as if the investigators were watching a movie where the camera operator was over-cranking one moment, then under-cranking the next. As if there were missing frames in the footage. The Men from Leng, the Zoogs, and the Moon-Beast all behave in a jerky, twitchy manner, as if they are in our dimension , then slip away for a split second, then reemerge. Also, you can never go wrong by showcasing the Mi-Go with glowing heads. A lot can be done with having that illumination glowing under doors, in the distance between trees (like will-o-wisps), beneath the floorboards of the farmhouse, etc. These are just some of the ideas I have to spook the players. Brandon Salisbury